Alltel adds 205,000 subs in Q3

Alltel Wireless, which just agreed to be acquired by private equity investors, posted a strong third quarter as earnings jumped 51 percent to $282.6 million. The carrier also added 205,000 net subscribers in the quarter, about twice as many as a year ago. At the end of Q3, Alltel had 12.1 million subs. Revenue was also up 14 percent to $2.28 billion. Net churn for the carrier came in at 1.31 percent for post-pay and 1.90 percent for total churn. ARPU came in at $55.96, while data ARPU was $6.36. Here's a look at Alltel's last few quarters for net subscribers as compared to the other big carriers in the U.S.:

Net Subs Chart - enable images
(click to see it in your browser)

To compare the carrier's ARPU to it previous quarters and its rivals, click here.
To compare Alltel's total churn rates for previous quarters, click here.

For more on Alltel's Q3:
- read the press release

Related stories:
- Private equity firms snag Alltel for $27.5B. Story
- Alltel buyout on track; record-setting postpaid adds. Story